When the kids arrived they picked out a pet necklace and ribbon. They wore this the rest of the party. I had LPS pictures for them to color while waiting for everyone to arrive. Then we played an assortment of games, all animal style: Simon says, animal charades, and animal relay races.
Then the kids sat at the table together. Olivia explained they would be adopting a pet that day, but they had to "rescue" the pet first. Everyone received the pet that matched the pet on their necklace. But, the pets were frozen and had to be rescued. Each kid used a medicine dropper to drop warm water on their pet. This was neat to see and took a little while.
While the pets dried off, the kids received Chinese take-out boxes to make a house for their new pet. They decorated them with stickers and markers. We then had cake and ice cream. Olivia opened her presents.
The kids ran around and played a little while. I was able to set up the pet food buffet - bug graham crackers, gummy worms, yogos, goldfish crackers, and sweet tart bones. They filled a baggy with treats to feed their pet later. They also got a decorated Pet Shop notepad to take home. These were really easy to make with wrapping paper and mod-podge.
It turned out to be a fun party. I was actually able to keep the kids busy most of the time (except maybe Daniel). Now we've got a Thomas the Train party to plan for March!